FBI warns terror attack could be imminent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI issued a terrorism alert Monday night for authorities to be on the lookout for a man from Yemen or Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen of his associates who may be planning an attack on U.S. interests in the United States or Yemen as early as Tuesday.

A senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN the information was viewed as credible because of the specificity of those allegedly involved in a plot.

An FBI spokesman said the alert was prompted by information from detainees in Afghanistan and at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where al Qaeda members are being held.

EXTRA INFORMATION Text of FBI warning    FBI list of suspected attackers Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei Issam Ahmad Dibwan al-Makhlafi Ahmad al-Akhader Nasser Albidani Bashir Ali Nasser al-Sharari Bassam Abdullah Bin Bushar al-Nahdi Abdulaziz Muhammad Saleh Bin Otash Mustafa Abdulkader Aabed al-Ansari Omar Ahmad Omar al-Hubishi Ammar Abadah Nasser al-Wa'eli Shuhour Abdullah Mukbil al-Sabri Samir Abduh Sa'id al-Maktawi Abu Nasr al-Tunisi Abu Mu'az al-Jeddawi Riyadh Shikawi Aka Shakawi Amin Saad Muhammad al-Zumari See the full list

The alert, posted on the FBI's Web site and sent to thousands of law enforcement agencies, identified Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national born in Saudi Arabia in 1979, as one of the suspects.

"Recent information indicates a planned attack may occur in the United States or against U.S. interests in the country of Yemen on or around 02/12/02," the alert said.

"One or more operatives may be involved in the attack, including Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, also known as Furqan. Al-Rabeei is believed to be a Yemeni national born in Saudi Arabia in 1979. He may be traveling on Yemeni passport 00452004."

The FBI said al-Rabeei's aliases may include: Fawaz Yahia Hassan Aribii, Fawaz al-Rubai, Fawaz Yehia Hassan al-Rabie, Fawaz Yahya al-Rabi'i, Fawaz Yahya al-Ribi (al-Ruba'i, al-Rabia'i, al-Rabi'i), Forqan al-Tajiki, Furgan al-Tajiki, Furqan the Chechen, Faris al-Baraq, Sa'id, Musharraf, and Salem al-Frahan.

The FBI said al-Rabeei's whereabouts are unknown.

"All individuals should be considered extremely dangerous," the FBI said.

The FBI has issued previous terrorist alerts based on credible but nonspecific threats. The last one was issued in January and was to expire in March.

The latest alert asked police "to stop and detain" any of the named individuals in alert and that all "should be considered extremely dangerous."